Music Banter - View Single Post - The Playlist of Life --- Trollheart's resurrected Journal

Trollheart · 02-18-2012, 03:28 AM

Oh man! You have just started on page 1? Have you some catching-up to do! We're currently on page 90, almost! Well, hopefully you'll enjoy some of what I have here, and thanks very much for commenting: not enough people do. If you would like to see something reviewed, if it's within my sphere of musical influence and I have or can get it, let me know and I'll do my best.

Meanwhile, let me just comment on your comments...

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Originally Posted by Unknown Soldier

Having just discovered your journal I'm going to go through it page by page and making some comments on some of the interesting stuff you've got.

Pages 1-2

Genesis Seconds Out: Now I've never heard this album as I've always been really anti-Phil Coillins over the years, but noticed most of the vids you put up are of the Gabriel era but sung by Collins. Maybe I should give the Collins era another chance, well at least the 70s stuff.

For Phil Collins Genesis, I agree that in ways he pushed the band away from the largely art/progressive vibe of Peter Gabriel, but then again some of their most successful (and excellent) albums were under his reign. Take a look at, in particular, "A trick of the tail", "Wind and wuthering", "Duke" and the excellent "And then there were three". Avoid "Abacab" at all costs! To be reviewed soon...

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Marillion Happiness is the Road: Again not heard this, but I am a fan of Steve Hogarth era Marillion and really love the Brave and This Strange Engine albums.

There is no praise high enough for Marillion in my view. I was with them from "Script", and love the Fish-era stuff, but Hogarth has put a whole new slant on the band (rather like the Gabriel/Collins thing), and even though they've become more a mainstream rock band, even verging into pop on occasions, I think they've retained their mostly prog roots. If you haven't already heard it, "Marillion.com" is a great album, as is "Marbles" and "Radiation": in fact, everything, though if you work through later to my "Last chance saloon" feature you'll see that I have no love for "Somewhere else"...

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Iron Maiden Brave New World:This was a good album despite not being brilliant, but did mark the return of Bruce Dickenson to the fold, but I have to say that A Matter of Life and Death was the classic late era Maiden album and a real return to form and probably their best since Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.

I only listened to AMOLAD once or twice, but would stand by BNW as being their best since SSOASS: I just love it, particularly the sense of relief after the last two Blaze albums being so disappointing.

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A-ha Analogue: I've always been a huge A-ha fan and they are probably one of the few pop bands that I can really enjoy, Morten Harkett's vocals have always been something special and their first 5 albums something special and the first 3 classics. Analogue is without doubt the best of the comeback albums and came after the poor Lifelines album.

Again, no praise is high enough for a-ha from me. Love all their stuff, and if you look further on I've featured their career in my "Taking centre stage" section. What a pity they decided to break up.

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Rainbow Rainbow Rising: Loved the review of this album and its without doubt one of the most influential heavy albums of the 1970s, it was a classic line-up and just a pity that Ritchie Blackmore didn't persevere with this batch of musicians. This is big arena metal and the Dio legend was born on these albums. I also think Long Live Rock n Roll to be as good as this album. Martin Birch also produced both these albums

I just love this album, start to finish, even though I'm not a huge Rainbow fan. Dio rules! Watch for a special on him in April...